"Evil Dead Rise" writer and director Lee Cronin is sharing the lengths he took to ensure there was enough gore in the film, which is the fifth installment in the cult horror series.
"We used 6,500 liters [1,717 gallons] of blood on the movie," he told Variety. "That is real, sticky, cooked movie blood. We had to hire out this industrial kitchen to cook the blood and keep it fresh, be able to heat it up, because characters are covered in it. There was a lot of management of liquid in this movie. I wanted blood to be a character, so it was important we got the viscosity and look just right."
Cronin had the weight of director Sam Raimi's legacy on his shoulders, which is why he was determined to ensure the production for the film was top-notch.
Raimi has a string of successful films to his name, including the "Spider-Man" trilogy of the 2000s, but he got his start directing the 1981 microbudget cult classic "The Evil Dead." What ensued were two sequels, a spinoff series, a 2013 reboot as well as video games and comic books.
And while Cronin has one full-length feature to his name — 2019's "The Hole in the Ground" — Raimi encouraged him to pitch his take on the "Evil Dead" series.
"I met with [producer] Rob Tapert and Sam in LA and gave them the pillars of the story," he said. "I had the conversation in a room with them for 15 minutes and left. My agents rang me and said, ' ''Evil Dead' is yours.' And I'm like, 'What does that mean?' And they said, 'It's yours to lose if you don't get it right.' So then you really have to double down to start writing."
Cronin went on to describe Raimi as "a really good, simple communicator" who was willing to impart his wisdom.
"His advice: Make sure the Deadites (demons that inhabit bodies) are really scary, and use the book," Cronin said. "My answer was 'Of course.' It's an interesting insight into Sam and his trust when he hires a filmmaker. He wasn't making the assumption that I'd do those things; he just wanted me to tell my story my way."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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